Dan Riordan takes over as global president for political risk and trade credit insurance at XL Catlin.

He was formerly at rival Zurich Insurance serving as its CEO for global corporate in North America Zurich Insurance from 2012 to 2015.

XL Catlin said Riordan will be based in the US, starting on May 2 2016.

He will report to Neil Robertson XL Catlin’s chief executive of global specialty insurance, who is based in London.

Robertson said: “Dan is highly respected in the PRTC market. He brings a wealth of experience to this newly created role which will see him take responsibility for the strategic leadership of the global PRTC business.”

Riordan had been at Zurich since 1997, and also has had a long association with the Berne Union, holding the position of president between 2013 and 2015.

His new appointment marks a structural change at XL Catlin, with political risk and trade credit becoming a separate underwriting unit, having previously been under the umbrella of crisis management, led by Stephan Ashwell.

The firm said Joe Blenkinsopp will continue in his role as global chief underwriting officer for political risk and trade credit, reporting to Riordan.

“We have appointed Dan and made the changes to our structure because we want to fully focus on developing our share of this significantly, growing market,” said Robertson.

“Global geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty has led to an increase in demand and over time we will be looking to add further resources in our key underwriting regions to respond to this growth opportunity,” he added.

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